PIDS study: Bullying costs PH up to P20B annually in lost productivity

A study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) warns that bullying could cost the Philippines as much as P20 billion annually in lost economic productivity.

The research, led by Dr. Michael Abrigo, indicates that bullying's impact on academic performance creates long-term deficits that reduce future labor productivity, consequently affecting the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Abrigo estimates these setbacks could lower the GDP by 0.05 to 0.08 percentage points each year, translating to approximately P10 billion to P20 billion in losses.

This economic loss is comparable to the combined budgets of the Department of Education (DepEd) for textbooks and computerization programs in 2024, which totaled around P20 billion.

Abrigo stressed that bullying is a modifiable risk factor, suggesting it can be tackled more readily than entrenched problems like generational poverty.

However, a De La Salle University fellow noted that the PISA survey data used in the study did not explicitly use the term 'bullying'.